Xiaoyu watched as Xiaoshu stood there silently, looking odd, holding Xiaohei close. Xiaoshu promptly pulled a cap onto her head, neatly tucked the two mops into their respective buckets, and handed another cap to Xiaoyu. “We’ll disguise ourselves as cleaning staff and slip in. Keep your hats pulled low; just don't let that fat pig spot us.”

“En, what about Xiaohei? Pets aren’t allowed in the hospital,” Xiaoyu replied, settling Xiaohei onto his shoulder. He adjusted his own cap, pulling the brim down low to shadow his eyes.

“Xiaohei goes in the bucket. He’s smart; he knows what to do.” Hearing this, Xiaohei actually let out a small bark, as if he understood Xiaoshu perfectly. With a light hop, he settled into the bucket, nestling his body against the mop head. From the outside, he looked exactly like a rag stuffed into a pail.

“What a brilliant disguise!” They exchanged a smile, each lifting a bucket. They took a roundabout route through a side path until they reached the hospital’s back entrance leading to the wards.

The hospital now seemed even more crowded than when they first brought Huagu in. Many patients without beds were forced to lie in the corridors, using a narrow, two-foot-wide mat as their resting place—the conditions were truly dreadful.

Xiaoshu and Xiaoyu navigated through the throng, taking over half an hour to locate the room where Huagu had initially been housed. Pushing the door open, they were shocked. A room designed for three beds now had two additional mattresses crammed onto the floor. Huagu lay on her original **, eyes closed, utterly still. The other four patients suffered from various injuries: one with a broken leg, another missing an arm, a third horribly burned, and the last, like Huagu, had both eyes wrapped in bandages, moaning incessantly, seemingly having suffered the same fate of having their eyes gouged out.

Seeing two figures dressed as orderlies push the door open, a family member of one of the patients immediately approached them, pointing at a puddle of bright yellow vomit on the floor. “Clean this up!”

Xiaoshu frowned, lifting her hat brim slightly to look at the speaker—a middle-aged woman with short hair, thin lips, and a pair of small, triangular eyes that were instantly repulsive to look at.

“I apologize, we aren’t the orderlies for this ward; we’re here visiting a friend,” Xiaoyu explained, bowing slightly to the triangular-eyed woman.

“What? Orderlies are assigned by ward?” Upon hearing Xiaoyu’s words, the triangular-eyed woman’s voice shot up an octave, dripping with sharp, malicious tones. “You’re just being lazy, making excuses! Believe it or not, I’ll find your supervisor!” She slammed her hand down on the bedside table, pointing at the pair. “Fetch your director to see me! I want to ask him myself which section you are responsible for!”

The most terrifying thing in this world is not a woman, but a shrew—the kind of woman who can raise hell in any setting and must never be provoked. They are like gamecocks; the moment they lock eyes with you, they will fight relentlessly, never backing down even if you kneel and beg for mercy, relentlessly listing all your faults. Xiaoshu and Xiaoyu had just encountered such a gamecock. With the triangular-eyed woman’s outburst, everyone in the ward turned their attention to the two young people, peppering them with noisy accusations: “Aren’t orderlies supposed to clean up?” “This hospital is a disgrace; the staff quality is so poor.” “Note down their employee numbers; we’ll file a complaint later.”

Just as the duo was being publicly chastised by the petty mob incited by the triangular-eyed woman, Ah Li walked in from outside, carrying a washbasin. Seeing Xiaoshu and Xiaoyu, she was overcome with a mixture of shock and delight, and inadvertently exclaimed, “You’re finally back!”